Al-Thiqat Mimman Lam Yaqa fi al-Kutub al-Sitta
- Author died
- 879 AH
- Editions
- مركز النعمان للبحوث والدراسات الإسلامية وتحقيق التراث والترجمة صنعاء، اليمن
Al-Thiqat Mimman Lam Yaqa fi al-Kutub al-Sitta (The Trustworthy Transmitters Who Did Not Appear in the Six Books) is a biographical dictionary of reliable hadith transmitters compiled by the Hanafi scholar Ibn Qutlubugha (d. 879 AH / 1474 CE) . The work catalogues trustworthy and accredited narrators omitted from the standard six canonical hadith collections and their major biographical compendia .
Title and Transmission
Ibn Qutlubugha did not explicitly title the work within the body of the text or in his other extant writings . The title Al-Thiqat Mimman Lam Yaqa fi al-Kutub al-Sitta was established by his contemporary and student al-Sakhawi in his biographical dictionary Al-Daw' al-Lami', and was subsequently adopted by later bibliographers and historians, including Hajji Khalifa in Kashf al-Zunun, Siddiq Hasan Khan in Abjad al-'Ulum and Al-Hitta, Isma'il Pasha in Hadiyyat al-'Arifin, and Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Kattani in Al-Risala al-Mustatrafa .
In manuscript margins, al-Sakhawi alternatively referred to it with shorter descriptive titles, labeling the flyleaves Tartib al-Thiqat and writing at the conclusion of the volumes Kitab al-Thiqat min al-Ruwah . Al-Kattani described the work as a large compendium spanning four volumes .
Purpose and Scope
In his introduction, Ibn Qutlubugha states that his aim was to extract narrators from the second generational tier (al-tabaqa al-thaniya) onward found in Ibn Hibban's Kitab al-Thiqat who were omitted from al-Mizzi's Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal . To these, he added narrators mentioned with any form of accreditation (ta'dil) in Ibn Abi Hatim's Al-Jarh wa-al-Ta'dil who were likewise absent from Tahdhib al-Kamal . He also incorporated additional reliable transmitters evaluated by other leading hadith critics, even if their standing was subject to scholarly disagreement, including later authorities for added utility .
Structure and Methodology
The entries are arranged in alphabetical order following the scheme of al-Mizzi's Tahdhib al-Kamal . Ibn Qutlubugha applied specific methodological conventions throughout the work:
- For entries drawn from Ibn Hibban, he affixed the number of the narrator's generational tier above their name as a shorthand notation .
- When a transmitter is documented by both Ibn Hibban and Ibn Abi Hatim, he opens the entry with Ibn Hibban's phrasing and follows it with a summary of Ibn Abi Hatim's account .
- Entries unique to Ibn Hibban are identified by the tier numeral, while entries unique to Ibn Abi Hatim are identified by an explicit statement of accreditation .
- Whenever additional critical evaluations (ta'dil or jarh) from other scholars were available, he cited them alongside the name of their respective author .
Sources
The compendium is primarily constructed upon Ibn Hibban's Kitab al-Thiqat and Ibn Abi Hatim's Al-Jarh wa-al-Ta'dil . Beyond these core works, Ibn Qutlubugha frequently drew on a wide array of biographical, historical, and critical treatises, citing authorities such as al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's Tarikh Baghdad, Ibn Yunus's Tarikh, Abu Ya'la al-Khalili's Al-Irshad, Ibn al-Sam'ani's Al-Ansab, Ibn al-Najjar's biographical continuations, Ibn Bashkuwal's Al-Sila, Ibn Nuqta, and Muslima ibn Qasim al-Qurtubi .
Manuscript and Publication
The work survived in a unique manuscript copied in the handwriting of al-Sakhawi . It was edited by Shadi ibn Muhammad ibn Salim Al Nu'man and published by Markaz al-Nu'man for Research and Heritage Studies in Sanaa, Yemen (1st edition, 1432 AH / 2011 CE) .
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